Glossary — Afro Hair and Hair Transplant Terms

Written by the AfroHairClinicTurkey editorial team, drawing on the clinical experience of our medical team · Last updated August 9, 2026 · How we write and check this

The words used around Afro hair transplantation are not always used carefully. This page defines them, and where a definition rests on published research, it shows you which paper.

Two things make this different from the glossaries you will find elsewhere. First, nothing here is written by hand — every entry is generated from the same register the rest of the site reads, so a term cannot be described one way here and another way on the page that uses it. Second, where we make a claim about a term rather than simply defining it, the source is attached and you can go and read it.

Where terms are genuinely distinct we keep them distinct, even when the industry blurs them. A keloid is not a hypertrophic scar. A braid is not a risk factor — a braid under tension is. Those distinctions are recorded deliberately, and the reasoning behind each one is kept with the entry.

33 terms. Definitions are generated from the same register the rest of the site reads, so a term cannot be described one way here and another way on the page that uses it.

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A

Afro-textured hair Hair pattern

Tightly curled hair type, the umbrella descriptor used across this site.

Also written Afro textured hair, African-textured hair, African textured hair, Afro-textured

What the evidence supports

Discussed on Afro & Curly Hair Types: The Complete Guide, What Hair Type Do I Have? A Two-Minute Test, About Us, Afro Hair Transplant Clinic in Turkey

Androgenetic alopecia Condition

Genetically driven progressive hair loss following a recognised pattern.

Also written male pattern baldness, female pattern hair loss, pattern hair loss

Relevant to Hair transplantation

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C

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia Condition

A scarring alopecia that begins at the crown and spreads outward. The follicle is destroyed and replaced by scar tissue, so hair lost to it does not return. Its cause is not established: both genetic variants and certain high-tension styling practices have been associated with it.

Also written CCCA

A type of Scarring alopecia · Relevant to Hair transplantation

What the evidence supports

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D

Diagnosis Surgical step

A distinct step in the procedure, attributable to a named person.

Related to Traction alopecia

Direct hair implantation Procedure

Implantation of grafts using a loaded pen-type implanter, without separately pre-made channels.

Also written DHI

A type of Hair transplantation

Discussed on Pricing & Packages

Donor area Clinical concept

The region grafts are taken from, typically the occipital and lateral scalp.

Also written donor zone, donor region

Related to Graft extraction

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F

Follicular curvature Clinical concept

The curved path a follicle takes beneath the skin, pronounced in tightly curled hair.

Also written retrocurvature

Applies to Afro-textured hair · Related to Transection

What the evidence supports

Discussed on Afro Hair Transplant Clinic in Turkey

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G

Graft extraction Surgical step

A distinct step in the procedure, attributable to a named person.

Also written extraction, graft harvesting

Part of Hair transplantation

What the evidence supports

  • In a case series of 18 patients with tightly curled hair, conventional rotary punches either failed outright or produced excessive transection in 8 of them, while a curved non-rotary punch kept transection below 5%. Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open 2016

Graft implantation Surgical step

A distinct step in the procedure, attributable to a named person.

Also written implantation, graft placement

Part of Hair transplantation

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H

Hair transplantation Procedure

Surgical relocation of follicles from a donor area to a recipient area.

Also written hair transplant

What the evidence supports

Discussed on Measurement Protocol v1.0, Your Trip to Istanbul, Pricing & Packages, Patient Stories & Reviews

Hypertrophic scarring Clinical concept

Raised scar confined to the original wound margin.

Also written hypertrophic scar

What the evidence supports

  • Keloid scarring occurs more often in Black patients than in white patients; the reason for the difference is not established. Dermatologic Clinics 1988

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I

International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery Organisation

Professional society maintaining a public member directory.

Also written ISHRS

Discussed on Medical Team Leaders

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K

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P

Personal or family history of keloids Risk factor

Prior keloid formation in the patient or close family.

Also written history of keloids

A risk factor for Keloid scarring

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S

Scarring alopecia Condition

Alopecia in which the follicle is destroyed and replaced by scar tissue.

Also written cicatricial alopecia, Cicatricial alopecia

What the evidence supports

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T

Tension-based styling Risk factor

Braids, cornrows, weaves, locs and ponytails installed under sustained tension.

Also written tension styling, tight braids, protective styles under tension

A risk factor for Traction alopecia

What the evidence supports

Discussed on 3B Hair: Ringlets in the Middle of the Range, 3A Hair Type: Where Waves Become Curls, 4C Hair: What It Is, How to Tell, and How to Keep It, 4B Hair: The Zigzag Pattern, Explained

Traction alopecia Condition

Hair loss caused by sustained tension on the follicle, concentrated at the hairline and temples.

Applies to Afro-textured hair · Relevant to Hair transplantation

What the evidence supports

Discussed on 3B Hair: Ringlets in the Middle of the Range, 3A Hair Type: Where Waves Become Curls, Afro & Curly Hair Types: The Complete Guide, 4C Hair: What It Is, How to Tell, and How to Keep It

Transection Clinical concept

Cutting through a follicle during extraction, damaging or destroying the graft.

Also written transected

Related to Follicular unit excision · Related to Graft extraction

What the evidence supports

Discussed on Measurement Protocol v1.0, Afro Hair Transplant Clinic in Turkey

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What is not here

Terms we have not defined, we have left out rather than guessed at. If a word you were looking for is missing, that is usually because we have not yet found a source good enough to define it from — not because it does not matter. Our verification page lists which parts of this site are still waiting on evidence, and telling us what is missing is genuinely useful.